1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to eyeglasses, and more particularly, to sports training eyeglasses having adjustable temporal side members, a movable nose piece, and opaque lenses, one pair of lenses having an elongated slit viewing aperture that is rotatably adjustable between a horizontal orientation and a vertical orientation.
2. Related Art
Eye-hand coordination is an essential element in nearly every sport. Indeed, sports such as baseball, golf or hockey require that a participant receive information with his eyes, process that information, form a course of action, and then transmit that course of action to the muscles in the body to carry out that action. Every step must take place in order for a participant to correctly hit a baseball, drive a golf ball, or slap a puck with the proper eye-hand coordination.
All of the steps in achieving proper eye-hand coordination require a precise and complex series of stimuli, processing, nerve reflexes, and muscle memory. In addition, exercising all of the steps of proper eye-hand coordination must often take place in an instant. As such, the seemingly simple task of driving a golf ball down a fairway is, in reality, a very complex biological process.
Of course the process can be improved and streamlined with practice and training. Nevertheless, a participant in a sport can spend countless hours trying to develop the correct eye-hand coordination. Those who are not initiated into a sport may spend even more hours trying to develop the correct eye-hand coordination, often to the point of frustration. In fact, those who wish to develop correct eye-hand coordination begin training at very early ages, improving reception of stimuli, processing what course of action to take, transmitting that action to the muscles, and having the muscles effect the correct action. Becoming proficient at even one step in the process may take years.
Therefore, there is a need for a training device that assists a user to xe2x80x9ckeep the eye on the ball.xe2x80x9d There is a further need for a training device that is adjustable such that the device can be customized for the user.
One obvious problem associated with training a user to xe2x80x9ckeep the eye on the ballxe2x80x9d is the numerous distractions to the user that interfere with the user""s ability to focus solely on the ball. Such distractions are often due to peripheral objects and/or lighting.
To address this problem, a pair of sports training eyeglasses are commercially available under U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,398 having opaque lenses with a small aperture centrally located. In operation, a user focuses on a ball through the aperture wherein all peripheral objects and lighting are removed from the user""s sight. The disadvantages with the conventional sports training eyeglasses are that the eyeglasses cannot be custom fit to the user""s head and the lenses may be easily knocked out of position. In addition, the lenses of the prior art eyeglasses can only be used with a moving ball, e.g., in softball and baseball. The prior art eyeglasses and lenses cannot be used with a stationary ball, e.g., in golf, because the lenses"" apertures are too small and fixed in position such that they prevent the user from following through on his/her swing when hitting the stationary ball.
Therefore, there is a need for a pair of sports training eyeglasses that provides for accurate adjustment of the positions of the lenses to correspond to the pupillary position of a user while allowing the user to maintain eye contact with a stationary ball put into motion.
The present invention solves the problems associated with a user training to hit a ball by providing a pair of sports training eyeglasses comprising: (a) a pair of lenses, each lens comprising: (i) an opaque peripheral region, and (ii) a viewing aperture; and (b) a frame, comprising: (i) an elongated bridge bar having opposite ends, (ii) a pair of opposing temporal side members extending from respective ends of the elongated bridge bar, (iii) a means for adjusting the position of each temporal side member in relation to the elongated bridge bar, (iv) a movable nose piece, (v) a means for removably attaching each lens to the elongated bridge bar, wherein the position of the lens are adjustable in relation to the movable nose piece, and (vi) a means for securing, or locking, the position of the lens on the elongated bridge bar.
There are several advantages of the sports training eyeglasses of the present invention over the prior art. First, the temporal side members are not straight elongated side members, but now comprise a raised portion and a lower portion. This new design provides the means for the eyeglasses to be properly positioned on a user, as well as provides a more comfortable and secure fit. Second, the temporal side members are adjustably connected to the elongated bridge bar, thereby allowing a user to change the angle of each temporal side member in relation to the elongated bridge bar. This provides the user with a properly positioned, comfortable and secure fit of the eyeglasses. Third, the nose piece is movable and can be adjustably positioned so as to also provide a means for lowering or raising the sports training eyeglasses on the user""s face. Fourth, the present sports training eyeglasses can easily be worn over conventional eyeglasses used to correct the user""s vision.
Additional advantages pertain to the lenses of the present invention. The pair of lenses are removably attached to the elongated bridge bar, thereby allowing a user to switch between different types of lenses depending on the desired training. Further, the position of the lenses is slidably adjustable along the elongated bridge bar, thereby allowing the user to position the lenses in alignment with his/her pupils. Once the lenses are properly positioned, an elongated locking bar is used to secure the position of the lenses within the elongated bridge bar. The locking bar ensures that the lenses will not be accidently moved from their proper position.
There are also two different types of lenses that are used with the present invention. A first type of lens is disclosed for training players in ball related sports that require batting or hitting of a moving ball, e.g., baseball and softball. This lens has an opaque periphery and has a viewing aperture that is preferably oval in shape. A second type of lens is disclosed for training players in ball related sports that require hitting a stationary object, e.g., golf and hockey. This lens also has an opaque periphery, but has a viewing aperture that is an elongated slit. Also, the viewing aperture is located within a rotating member such that the viewing aperture is rotatably positionable within the lens, whereby the user can rotate the viewing aperture between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation. This rotation of the viewing aperture allows the user to custom fit the lenses within the elongated bridge bar and then, without moving the lenses"" position but moving only the viewing aperture orientation, allows the user to train with the sports training eyeglasses.